Keselowski earns pole for Coca-Cola 600

A strong practice session translated into an excellent qualifying run for Brad Keselowski, as the driver of the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge won the pole for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Keselowski sped around the 1.5-mile track in 28.112 seconds (192.089 mph) Thursday to win the second Coors Light Pole Award of his career, the first coming this past September at New Hampshire. Keselowski edged A.J. Allmendinger (191.693 mph), who will start his second consecutive Sprint Cup points race from the outside of the front row.

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Series points leader Carl Edwards, winner of last Saturday's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte, will start third after at lap at 191.686 mph. Edwards' lap was one-thousandth of a second slower than Allmendinger's (28.170 seconds versus 28.171). Denny Hamlin (191.367 mph) will line up next to Edwards on the outside of the second row.

Jeff Burton (191.245 mph) qualified fifth. Jimmie Johnson, David Reutimann, David Ragan, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Clint Bowyer will start from positions six through 10, respectively. Stenhouse, driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in place of Trevor Bayne, is the first driver to make his Cup debut in the Coke 600 since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 1999.

After struggling early in the 2011 season, Keselowski's performance has improved in the past few weeks, the high-water mark being a third-place finish at Darlington.

Asked about the origin of his new-found speed, Keselowski joked, "Well, my crew chief Paul Wolfe, he lives off of Perth Road, so maybe he found some secrets there," a reference to the public road in Iredell County where Kyle Busch was stopped on Tuesday for doing 128 mph in a 45 mph zone.

"Other than that, he's making small gains every week. Sometimes they don't show up. Sometimes you make gains, and you can feel 'em, but you all [the media] don't see 'em. But as race car drivers, we go off the feel off of our [butt], and the feel off my [butt] says the car's getting better. They're turning just a little bit better. The horsepower's getting just a little bit better, and I think that we have more in store."

Paul Menard qualified 16th despite driving with a cut on his right foot that required 20 stitches. Menard hobbled to his car on crutches.

Andy Lally, T.J. Bell, Scott Wimmer, Tony Raines and Scott Riggs failed to qualify for the 43-car field.

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